A competitive genetic algorithm for resource-constrained project scheduling

In this paper we consider the resource-constrained project scheduling problem (RCPSP) with makespan minimization as objective. We propose a new genetic algorithm approach to solve this problem. Subsequently, we compare it to two genetic algorithm concepts from the literature. While our approach makes use of a permutation based genetic encoding that contains problem-specific knowledge, the other two procedures employ a priority value based and a priority rule based representation, respectively. Then we present the results of our thorough computational study for which standard sets of project instances have been used. The outcome reveals that our procedure is the most promising genetic algorithm to solve the RCPSP. Finally, we show that our genetic algorithm yields better results than several heuristic procedures presented in the literature. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 45: 733–750, 1998     

基于RBF网络的导弹攻击区解算及对比分析

研究了神经网络在空空导弹攻击区处理中的运用,在提出多层前馈(MF)网络和径向基函数(RBF)网络设计方案的基础上,着重对MF网络的BP算法、改进BP算法以及RBF网络的应用进行了仿真,并从收敛速度、逼近精度和实时性三个方面,对计算结果进行了对比分析,结论表明RBF网络在导弹攻击区处理中具有更高的可行性,更适用于快速高精度的火控解算。     

The impact of exponential smoothing forecasts on the bullwhip effect

An important phenomenon often observed in supply chain management, known as the bullwhip effect, implies that demand variability increases as one moves up the supply chain, i.e., as one moves away from customer demand. In this paper we quantify this effect for simple, two‐stage, supply chains consisting of a single retailer and a single manufacturer. We demonstrate that the use of an exponential smoothing forecast by the retailer can cause the bullwhip effect and contrast these results with the increase in variability due to the use of a moving average forecast. We consider two types of demand processes, a correlated demand process and a demand process with a linear trend. We then discuss several important managerial insights that can be drawn from this research. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 47: 269–286, 2000     

膨胀型过氯乙烯防火涂料

本文介绍了以过氯乙烯为成膜物质,添加成炭剂、脱水催化剂、发泡剂制备膨胀型防火涂料的组成、工艺、性能和防火效果。并用正交试验法讨论了主要组成成分对涂料防火性能的影响。     

浅析失火罪与消防责任事故罪

本文通过介绍《重庆市办理失火罪和消防责任事故罪案件立案标准（暂行）》,简述了失火罪与消防责任事故罪的具体概念、主要构成特征及区别。     

Excess procurement strategies by a dominant buyer under constrained supply

Supply chains are often characterized by the presence of a dominant buyer purchasing from a supplier with limited capacity. We study such a situation where a single supplier sells capacity to an established and more powerful buyer and also to a relatively less powerful buyer. The more powerful buyer enjoys the first right to book her capacity requirements at supplier's end, and then the common supplier fulfills the requirement of the less powerful buyer. We find that when the supplier's capacity is either too low (below the lower threshold) or too high (above the higher threshold), there is no excess procurement as compared to the case when supplier has infinite capacity. When the supplier's capacity is between these two thresholds, the more powerful buyer purchases an excess amount in comparison to the infinite capacity case.     

适用于行星巡视探测的集中式载荷控制方法

以行星巡视探测任务为背景,针对资源紧张条件下自主控制载荷进行科学探测的需求,提出一种集中式载荷控制方法。建立新型的载荷电子学和载荷数管集成一体化硬件架构;软件采用基于事件表和工作模式表的控制方式自主控制载荷工作;采取多项健康管理措施,依据预设的规则监控载荷的状态,自主对故障载荷采取恢复和隔离措施。实现的公用控制部分仅重3 kg,功耗6 W,软件支持9个工作模式表同时运行,指令执行时刻误差优于40 ms。该方法应用到我国首次火星探测任务中,地面测试结果表明其简捷、高效、可靠,适合在资源苛刻的行星巡视探测任务中,对各载荷进行控制。     

Purchase and retrieval competition for seasonal produce

We study the competition problem of purchase and multiretrieval of perishable seasonal produce, where wholesalers purchase and stock their products in the first period, and then retrieve and sell them in subsequent periods. We first consider the duopoly case and assume that the prices are exogenous and fluctuate. In each period, after the price realization, the wholesalers retrieve some stock from their warehouses to satisfy their demands. One wholesaler's unsatisfied customers can switch to another and be satisfied by its left retrieved products. Any unsold retrieved stock has no salvage value and any unsatisfied demand is lost. The unretrieved stock is carried to the next period at a perishable rate. The wholesalers compete for the substitute demand by determining their own purchase and retrieval quantities. We show the existence and uniqueness of a pure-strategy Nash equilibrium, and that the Nash equilibrium strategy has the simple “sell-down-to” structure. We also consider the general N-person game and show the existence of the Nash equilibrium, and characterize the structure of the equilibrium strategy for the symmetric case. In addition, we consider the case with endogenous prices, and show that the problem reduces to a repeated newsvendor game with price and inventory competition. We derive the conditions under which a unique Nash equilibrium exists and characterize the equilibrium strategy. Finally, we conduct numerical studies to examine the impacts of the model parameters on the equilibrium outcomes and to generate managerial insights.     

Assortment optimization with position effects under the nested logit model

We study the assortment optimization problem with position effects under the nested logit model, whose goal is to find the revenue-maximizing subset of products as well as their corresponding display positions. In this joint assortment-position optimization problem, the choices of products are affected by not only their qualities and prices but also the positions where they are displayed. Despite determining the assortment and their corresponding display positions sequentially, we propose to solve this problem in an integrated way to obtain the optimal solution. We formulate this problem as a nonlinear binary integer programming model and develop a dynamic programming based solution approach to obtain the optimal assortment-position assignments. We carry out extensive numerical experiments to evaluate the benefit of our integrated approach. The most important insight we discover is that it is not necessarily better to put the most attractive products in the best position. Moreover, we show that compared to the sequential approaches, our approach can improve revenue by 10.38% on average, which suggests that firms should take into consideration position effects when making assortment decisions. Finally, we discuss results related to two extensions of this problem, that is, the special case when positions are preassigned to nests, and the joint assortment-position-price optimization problem.     

Data-driven research in retail operations—A review

We review the operations research/management science literature on data-driven methods in retail operations. This line of work has grown rapidly in recent years, thanks to the availability of high-quality data, improvements in computing hardware, and parallel developments in machine learning methodologies. We survey state-of-the-art studies in three core aspects of retail operations—assortment optimization, order fulfillment, and inventory management. We then conclude the paper by pointing out some interesting future research possibilities for our community.